Type of Article: MacTech Blog

The iPhone 4S boasts a Retina display, as does the new iPad. Perhaps the Mac is next in line for such technology.

“Ars Technica” (http://macte.ch/TQTWE) says a new clue found within in the latest developer release of OS X 10.8 (“Mountain Lion”) suggests that 2012 may bring us the “summer of retina display Macs.” A source with access to the latest Mountain Lion preview alerted “Ars” that double-sized graphics have popped up in some unexpected places, once again suggesting that Apple may be close to releasing laptops with high pixel-density screens.

According to “AppleInsider” (http://www.appleinsider.com), a patent (number 20120078635) shows that Apple has shown interest in bringing Siri functionality to other devices, like Macs, by pairing them with an iPhone to share its voice control abilities. The describes the current Siri system — which Apple calls a voice activated personal assistant — found on the iPhone 4S, but adds the new element of pairing with a second electronic device to grant it voice control.

Two new patents at the U.S. Patent & Trademark Office show that Apple is eyeing ways to enhance a 3D-like experience on its iOS and OS X devices.

Patents 20120079378 and 20120079377 are for systems, methods, and computer-readable media for integrating a three-dimensional asset with a three-dimensional model. Each asset can include a base surface and either a protrusion or a projection extending from the base.

Two Apple patents involving digital photography have appeared at the U.S. Patent & Trademark Office. Patent 20120075521 is for a mechanical camera shutter mechanism. A camera shutter mechanism for covering and exposing an imaging sensor array is disclosed.

The camera shutter mechanism includes a rotary motor, a crank mechanism, a cover, a guide, and a drive circuit. The rotary motor is coupled to the crank mechanism to rotate the crank mechanism about a central axis. The cover is coupled to the crank mechanism at a point away from the central axis.